Simulacra and Simulation
Simulacra and Simulation by Jean Baudrillardby Jean Baudrillard
Hacker ApprovedRanked 5 of 30 philosophy books by recommenders
People recommend it as a tool for understanding modern culture and media, once the dense French prose is worked through. The most common caveat is that it is hard to read.
People recommend it as a tool for understanding modern culture and media, once the dense French prose is worked through. The most common caveat is that it is hard to read.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Useful for understanding modern culture
“once you worked through the book, it is a phenomenal tool to understand modern culture”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Simulacra and Simulation” “Suddenly, wildly, pertinent to today's world.”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “Simulacra and Simulation” “Also worth reading, especially today in LLM age”
Comment from 17 May 2026 in “We've made the world too complicated” Disneyland observation sticks with readers
“I always liked his observation that Disneyland was created in order to make the rest of America seem real.”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Simulacra and Simulation” “That quote has always stuck with me. It's haunting.”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Simulacra and Simulation”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Dense, hard-to-read French prose
“Great book, though it requires a bit of experience sifting through florid 20th century French philosophical prose.”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Simulacra and Simulation” “It took me about 20-30 re-reads of the first page to understand it.”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Simulacra and Simulation” “"readable and accessible" are some of the last words I would use to describe the book”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Simulacra and Simulation” - Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Simulacra and Simulation”
Other philosophy books people recommend
The four most recommended other philosophy books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tao Te Chingby 老子 and Yang Peng and Jordi Fibla and James Legge | 32 | 3 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenanceby Robert M. Pirsig | 24 | 3 | 89% | 9 | 44 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Meditationsby Marcus Aurelius | 17 | 4 | 81% | 8 | — | Approved |
| I Am a Strange Loopby Douglas R. Hofstadter | 16 | 1 | 94% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Simulacra and Simulationby Jean BaudrillardThis page | 12 | 3 | 80% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
15 of the 17 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Those are not scientifically rigorous claims.”
“It took me about 20-30 re-reads of the first page to understand it.”
“That quote has always stuck with me. It's haunting.”
“once you worked through the book, it is a phenomenal tool to understand modern culture”
“As a former philosophy student I find it one of the more readable books.”
“it's pretty interesting, it's just also kinda sci-fi/fanciful”
“"readable and accessible" are some of the last words I would use to describe the book”
“Tried to read it, gave up.”
“Great book, though it requires a bit of experience sifting through florid 20th century French philosophical prose.”
“consuming long tracts of resulting thought is questionably useful”
“I always liked his observation that Disneyland was created in order to make the rest of America seem real.”
“Suddenly, wildly, pertinent to today's world.”
“It agrees with you, and there's a sense in which you're right.”
“Also worth reading, especially today in LLM age”
“The author might (or might not, 20th century French philosophy can be intimidating) benefit from reading Simulacra and Simulation.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.